Principal quits after shooting kittens at school

SuzannePjam · October 2006

Principal quits after shooting kittens at school
Minnesota man says he didn’t want them to suffer; could face charges
Updated: 11:23 p.m. ET Oct 14, 2006

INDUS, Minn. - A school principal has resigned and could face felony firearm charges after he shot and killed two orphaned kittens on school property last month.
Wade Pilloud, who resigned as principal of the K-12 Indus school, 40 miles west of International Falls, said he shot the kittens to spare them from starving to death after their mother was killed in an animal trap.
Pilloud said the shooting, which occurred on school grounds, endangered no one.
"I have bred cats, and I currently own two myself," he wrote Friday in an e-mail to the Minneapolis Star Tribune. "I am not a cat hater. I did not want the animals to suffer."
The incident happened Sept. 21, and several students still on the grounds for after-school activities heard the shots.
"There were parents who felt, apparently some rather strongly, that there were concerns about the safety of their children," said Joseph Flynn, an attorney for the South Koochiching/Rainy River School District. "The district's position is that safety was not compromised."
John Mastin, acting sheriff in Koochiching County, said Pilloud could be charged with felony possession of a firearm on school property and reckless discharge of a firearm, a misdemeanor.
County Attorney Jennifer Hasbargen said Friday that the case was under review.
Mastin said the shooting put no one in danger but said Pilloud used "poor discretion and poor timing," especially amid the growing fear of gun violence in schools.
The district put Pilloud on administrative leave after the incident. Flynn said Pilloud agreed to an undisclosed settlement and resigned.

hippiemom · October 2006

SuzannePjam wrote:

Principal quits after shooting kittens at school
Minnesota man says he didn’t want them to suffer; could face charges
Updated: 11:23 p.m. ET Oct 14, 2006

INDUS, Minn. - A school principal has resigned and could face felony firearm charges after he shot and killed two orphaned kittens on school property last month.
Wade Pilloud, who resigned as principal of the K-12 Indus school, 40 miles west of International Falls, said he shot the kittens to spare them from starving to death after their mother was killed in an animal trap.
Pilloud said the shooting, which occurred on school grounds, endangered no one.
"I have bred cats, and I currently own two myself," he wrote Friday in an e-mail to the Minneapolis Star Tribune. "I am not a cat hater. I did not want the animals to suffer."
The incident happened Sept. 21, and several students still on the grounds for after-school activities heard the shots.
"There were parents who felt, apparently some rather strongly, that there were concerns about the safety of their children," said Joseph Flynn, an attorney for the South Koochiching/Rainy River School District. "The district's position is that safety was not compromised."
John Mastin, acting sheriff in Koochiching County, said Pilloud could be charged with felony possession of a firearm on school property and reckless discharge of a firearm, a misdemeanor.
County Attorney Jennifer Hasbargen said Friday that the case was under review.
Mastin said the shooting put no one in danger but said Pilloud used "poor discretion and poor timing," especially amid the growing fear of gun violence in schools.
The district put Pilloud on administrative leave after the incident. Flynn said Pilloud agreed to an undisclosed settlement and resigned.

I don't know where I got the wacky idea that if a creature is starving, you should FEED it, not SHOOT it.

PaperPlates · October 2006

meow

keeponrockin · October 2006

You can't make this stuff up.

Gypsy125 · October 2006

SuzannePjam wrote:

Pilloud could be charged with felony possession of a firearm on school property and reckless discharge of a firearm, a misdemeanor.

What about animal cruelty???

Vedderlution_Baby · October 2006

Hmm. Didn't want them to suffer...so shoot them so they'll die...or adopt them so they'll live. Choices choices.

Besides, with all the shit thats happened with school shooting in the past months...what the fuck were you thinking?

carolinabeerguy · October 2006

Gypsy125 wrote:

What about animal cruelty???

It's not really cruel if they die instantly from a gunshot is it?

tybird · October 2006

Vedderlution_Baby! wrote:

Hmm. Didn't want them to suffer...so shoot them so they'll die...or adopt them so they'll live. Choices choices.

Besides, with all the shit thats happened with school shooting in the past months...what the fuck were you thinking?

I would suspect that these were "feral"...had never had human contact and such. There is really not much that you can do for or with them..they are not considered adoptable....."feral" domestic cats are murder on the local native bird and small wild mammal populations, and they (the cats)should be eliminated humanely.

Before you flame, yes, there is a cat currently resting its head on one of hands.

And here's a nice link explaining a little more about where I am coming from on this issue:

http://www.abcbirds.org/cats/

Vedderlution_Baby · October 2006

tybird wrote:

I would suspect that these were "feral"...had never had human contact and such. There is really not much that you can do for or with them..they are not considered adoptable....."feral" domestic cats are murder on the local native bird and small wild mammal populations, and they (the cats)should be eliminated humanely.

Before you flame, yes, there is a cat currently resting its head on one of hands.

And here's a nice link explaining a little more about where I am coming from on this issue:

http://www.abcbirds.org/cats/

Fair enough. But it was still stupid to shoot them while on school grounds.

hippiemom · October 2006

tybird wrote:

I would suspect that these were "feral"...had never had human contact and such. There is really not much that you can do for or with them..they are not considered adoptable....."feral" domestic cats are murder on the local native bird and small wild mammal populations, and they (the cats)should be eliminated humanely.

Before you flame, yes, there is a cat currently resting its head on one of hands.

And here's a nice link explaining a little more about where I am coming from on this issue:

http://www.abcbirds.org/cats/

They were "orphaned kittens," which I take to mean they were still so young they couldn't feed themselves ... much different than full-grown cats. If they weren't diseased, they'd have been adoptable, and I somehow doubt he did blood tests before he shot them.

Jammin909 · October 2006

Not to be insensitive but I tried to logically replay this scenario in my head and can’t do it without laughing...

conclusion: people are crazy.

69charger · October 2006

hippiemom wrote:

They were "orphaned kittens," which I take to mean they were still so young they couldn't feed themselves ... much different than full-grown cats. If they weren't diseased, they'd have been adoptable, and I somehow doubt he did blood tests before he shot them.

So what's your stance on abortion?

sponger · October 2006

I get the feeling that those kittens would've ended up being euthanized at the shelter anyway. Every shelter I've visited seems to be suffering from a bit of overcrowding.

Thorns2010 · October 2006

tybird wrote:

http://www.abcbirds.org/cats/

Wait, wait, wait....according to that link, there actually is a disese called cat-scratch fever??? And all this time I thought the Nuug was being funny.

Nuug.....I dunno if thats right, stupid Ted Nugent, there, better? Ok!

hippiemom · October 2006

69charger wrote:

So what's your stance on abortion?

You know my stance on abortion. This thread is about shooting hungry infants who have already been born.

AllNiteThing · October 2006

69charger wrote:

So what's your stance on abortion?

Are you kidding me? I assume you're trying to entrap her into some kind of morality quandry, but really this is ridiculous.

This situation doesn't equate to abortion! If the mother cat chose to end its pregnancy, why would we even care honestly? lol Silly, but that is what would equate to your example. This translates to an unrelated person coming in and murdering an infant!!!! HUGE difference there.

Also, how does anyone know the cats were feral/wild? Honestly, is it hard to believe the mother cat was someone's pet that just got loose, or was abandoned? Also, these were kittens! Not exactly too dangerous/wild to be taken in and raised by humans! This shit makes me sick, and I really wish there were comparable murder charges against animal killers when it doesn't involve hunting for food consumption. Indiscriminate killing and torture of animals is just as bad if not worse than that on humans, because they can't defend themselves or press charges like we can. People disgust me. :mad:

tybird · October 2006

Vedderlution_Baby! wrote:

Fair enough. But it was still stupid to shoot them while on school grounds.

True.........

One Song Glory · October 2006

Yes, it was a hugely bad thing to shoot poor little innocent kitties (I'm a dog person but our family has SIX cats...some live in the barn, only 2 in the house, but I've become quite attached after all of these little critters), but the real point is that a school principal, upon seeing the helpless starving kitties, promptly decided the best thing he could do for them was to take out his gun and shoot them on school property. There are many many things he could have done instead, if only just to take them off school property or wait till everyone left. That was a very stupid mistake and it cost him his job and reputation. Oh well.

surferdude · October 2006

I object to the guy's behavior for two reasons;
1. It wasn't his position to decide if the cats should die,
2. Even if it was, shooting them on school grounds wasn't the best way to go about it.

How do people feel about people putting down their pets for so called "compassionate reasons"? That's what this guy thought he was doing.

How do people feel about animal clinics and dog pounds putting down unclaimed animals after a period of time?

hippiemom · October 2006

surferdude wrote:

I object to the guy's behavior for two reasons;
1. It wasn't his position to decide if the cats should die,
2. Even if it was, shooting them on school grounds wasn't the best way to go about it.

How do people feel about people putting down their pets for so called "compassionate reasons"? That's what this guy thought he was doing.

How do people feel about animal clinics and dog pounds putting down unclaimed animals after a period of time?

I'm all in favor of putting pets down for compassionate reasons. I also support euthanasia. If the kittens were so debilitated that they could never be expected to recover, that would be an entirely different story, but I doubt this guy had the sort of expertise necessary to make that kind of determination. I don't know, I wasn't there, but this article makes it sound like he thought "oh look, hungry kittens ... BANG!" without even trying to find some way to care for them.

And of course, discharging a weapon on school grounds is just crazy. I'm glad the guy got fired. I wouldn't want anyone who exercised such poor judgment running my kids' schools.

qtegirl · October 2006

All previous points are valid. But what are the principal's actions saying to the kids at the school.

It would've been a great opportunity to teach kids about the value of life, compassion, helping the helpless and all that, had he called animal control or taken the kitties to a shelter. But instead, he decided to shoot them. I'm glad he was fired.

Oh, an afterthought... why did he have a gun in school property to begin with?

Principal quits after shooting kittens at school

Comments

Categories